


Some things can't be hidden

by S_Horne



Series: Stony September AUs [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Kid Fic, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Relationship Reveal, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 05:58:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15943193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Horne/pseuds/S_Horne
Summary: “What?” Peter sat up in the booth, suddenly alert. “Dad, what is it?” He followed Tony’s eyes right to a man in the doorway of the restaurant. A big, blond and young man that even Peter could admit was attractive.“Is that him?” Peter asked. “He’s young.”“He’s 32,” Tony argued, though he was still pale and didn’t shift his gaze.“Have you actually seen proof of age? Because he looks young, Dad. Like not that much older than my age. Have you checked his ID? There are some good fakes out there, just warning you.”“Will you be quiet?” Tony hissed, lifting his hand and waving to the man. “He is perfectly legal, thank you very much.”Peter watched as the guy lit up as soon as he noticed Tony, awkwardly dodging the lunchtime crowds as he tried to make his way over to their table.“Hi,” he said when he reached them, a beaming smile on his face. He made a motion to kiss Tony before his eyes flickered to Peter and he changed his course, pressing his lips to Tony’s cheek instead and stepping away quickly.





	Some things can't be hidden

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [Sadieb798](https://sadieb798.tumblr.com/) for betaing this
> 
> 9\. Single parent

“I love you, kid.”

Peter grimaced as Tony pulled him close to his side, his cheek rubbing on Peter’s messy hair.

“Oh, dad,” he groaned, “come on. Here?”

Tony squeezed Peter tighter for a second before releasing him. “Sorry,” he said, though he clearly wasn’t at all. “You’re really okay with this?”

Peter rolled his eyes, but his posture softened. “Of course I am,” he said as though Tony was completely stupid. “It’s been just you and I for a long time and I’m off to college soon.”

Tony groaned dramatically and Peter reached out to shove at his arm playfully. “You’ve been alone for too long, Dad. You’ve given up so much for me. It’s about time you found someone. How could that make me mad?” Peter paused for a second and shrugged. “Unless he’s a total dick, of course.”

Tony spluttered, “he is not a dick! Although he has–”

“Eugh, no! Dad, stop it.”

Tony laughed and wrapped his arm around Peter again. “Thank you, kid. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Peter said as he leant in to the hug for a minute. “Remember that at Christmas.”

With a laugh, Tony pulled away, but not without one last ruffle to Peter’s hair. As Tony sat back up in his chair, the smile dropped right off his face and he looked terrified.

“What?” Peter sat up in the booth, suddenly alert. “Dad, what is it?” He followed Tony’s eyes right to a man in the doorway of the restaurant. A big, blond and _young_ man that even Peter could admit was attractive.

“Is that him?” Peter asked. “He’s young.”

“He’s 32,” Tony argued, though he was still pale and didn’t shift his gaze.

“Have you actually seen proof of age? Because he looks _young_ , Dad. Like not that much older than my age. Have you checked his ID? There are some good fakes out there, just warning you.”

“Will you be quiet?” Tony hissed, lifting his hand and waving to the man. “He is perfectly legal, thank you very much.”

Peter watched as the guy lit up as soon as he noticed Tony, awkwardly dodging the lunchtime crowds as he tried to make his way over to their table.

“Hi,” he said when he reached them, a beaming smile on his face. He made a motion to kiss Tony before his eyes flickered to Peter and he changed his course, pressing his lips to Tony’s cheek instead and stepping away quickly.

Peter just about stopped himself from rolling his eyes for a third time, though he was also quite grateful for the respect. He watched as Tony stood up and slipped out of the booth to lean into the hand that the man had placed on his waist, the tension visibly slipping from his shoulders.

“Hi,” Tony said so happily that Peter felt something twist inside  him. “Steve, I’d like you to meet Peter. Pete, this is Steve.”

Steve, huh? Sounded like a normal name, looked like a normal guy. Peter held out his hand quickly and accepted Steve’s handshake, smiling long-sufferingly at the sappy look on his Dad’s face. The size of Steve’s muscles had intimidated Peter a little, but it was obvious that Steve was holding back in their handshake.

“It’s good to meet you, Peter,” Steve said and Peter nodded as he sat back down.

“You too,” he replied, watching Steve walk around to the chairs on the other side of the table. “Now that I know about you and all.”

Tony hissed his name as he took a seat, but Steve just laughed at his dry tone.

“That’s my fault,” Steve said as he finally took a seat after checking Tony was tucked under the table. Peter knew full well that it hadn’t been his idea to keep them a secret, but he appreciated the attempt. “I didn’t want to come on too strongly and insist on us all meeting.”

Peter almost laughed out loud at that. The two men in front of him hadn’t taken their hands off each other since they’d sat down and Peter could have choked at the love-stuck expression on Steve’s face. There was no _way_ either of them would have scared the other off, no matter what they did.

“Have you ordered yet?” When both Peter and Steve turned to stare at Tony in confusion, he blushed darkly. “Right.” He let out a little laugh, “we were here before you. So, no. No, you haven’t ordered yet.”

“Relax, Dad,” Peter started and Steve put his arm around Tony’s shoulders, his fingers stroking over his cheek. “It’s cool.”

“Yeah,” Steve said with a straight face, “it’s hip.”

Peter’s eyebrows hit the ceiling and Steve turned to him. “Oh, do kids not say ‘hip’ anymore? What about ‘wack?’ Do you say ‘wack’?”

There was a beat of silence before Steve burst into laughter, Peter following him after a second. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. My best friend told me to say it. He thought it would break the ice.”

Peter picked up his glass of coke and mock-toasted Steve with it. “Ice officially broken. You’re as much of a dork as my dad.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, sorry,” Peter said, turning to Tony. “Were you trying to convince Steve you were cool? I feel like you’ve been together long enough for him to know the truth.”

Steve smothered a laugh behind his hand and Tony turned to him with a wounded expression, his eyes wide and imploring and eyebrows low on his forehead.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said quickly, his hand patting Tony’s knee, “you’re very cool.”

Tony sniffed and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I am. I’m glad you both recognise that.” When he finished speaking, he bit his lip and his eyes flickered between the other two at the table.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked.

“Yes.” Tony sighed and his shoulders slumped. “No. I need to pee.”

“So? Go to the bathroom,” Peter said. “You’ve been doing it for years, I’m sure you can find your way.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at his sassy son. “Yes, I have,” he agreed, “but…”

“But you’re worried that Steve and I will murder each other while you’re gone.”

Tony’s silence was answer enough and Peter rolled his eyes so hard that he almost saw into his brain. “Dad, please go to the bathroom. I’m a big boy - I can handle a few minutes alone with your boyfriend.”

As soon as Peter finished talking, Tony and Steve looked at each other with the softest expressions that Peter had ever seen, their eyes locked together and any hints of a frown completely vanished.

“What?” he asked, looking between the two men, “what did I say?”

“Boyfriend,” Steve practically whispered and the look on Tony’s face made something catch in Peter’s throat.

After a pause, Peter coughed discreetly and the two men startled apart.

“Right. The bathroom.”

“Go,” Steve urged with a smile, “we’ll be fine.”

Tony hesitated before the need for the bathroom won out and he shot up, dashing away from the table. He glanced back once, twice more on his way and Peter huffed a laugh.

“He only needs to go because he was downing espressos like they were tic tacs,” Peter explained as he leaned back in his chair.

“What?” Steve asked, his eyes snapping away from the retreating Tony to focus on Peter.

“Yeah, he was so nervous. First he had to work up the courage to tell me, then he was scared of how I was going to react, and then he was terrified you weren’t gonna show.”

“Well that was ridiculous.”

Peter chuckled. “That’s what I said, but _you_ try telling him that.”

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence before Steve cleared his throat. “So, you’re off to college?”

“Yeah,” Peter said with a nod. “Next year. Well, this year, but yeah, next school year. Heading out to California.”

“Yeah, your dad said. That’s so cool.” Peter couldn’t help but smile at the genuine excitement in Steve’s voice. “You’re going to have such an incredible time. I loved college, and I know how much smarter you are than I ever was. It’s going to be even better for you.”

Peter coloured a little – damn his dad and his constant bragging about Peter. “Where did you go?”

“Oh, I stayed close. I went to Columbia.”

“Wow.”

Steve shuffled a little and nodded awkwardly. “Yeah. Bucky and I – my best friend – always wanted to go somewhere together and when he got a full ride, I started looking into scholarships there. I got one. Didn’t do much with it after I left, though. I followed my art.”

“Well, it seems to have worked out for you?”

“Oh yeah,” Steve said with a smile, “I can’t complain. I always wanted to be an artist.”

There was a beat of silence again and Peter’s gaze dropped to the napkins on the table, fingers reaching out to pick one up. As he started to shred it, a question popped into his mind. “Never been married? No kids?”

Maybe it was a little invasive, but he figured he was allowed to ask. It wasn’t like he was trying to catch Steve out or be mean, he was just genuinely curious about his Dad’s new partner.

“No.” Steve sighed wistfully and Peter felt like a bit of an ass. “I always wanted kids, but it never happened.”

“It’s not too late,” Peter said, pushing little bits of paper into a pile in front of him.

“I think your dad’s got enough with you - he adores you so much.”

Peter froze and Steve’s cheeks flushed. Huh. He _definitely_ needed to find out how long his Dad had been seeing Steve. This wasn’t just a fling: this was serious.

“I don’t know,” he started slowly, “I think he’s always wanted more. I guess I could put up with a sibling or two.”

“Yeah?” Steve’s figure didn’t really suit his awkwardness, the way that the bulky man was trying to melt into the chair or sink right down into the floor.

“Mm,” Peter confirmed. “As long as you don’t give away my room.”

Steve broke into a smile and stretched out a hand. Quickly brushing his hands clean, Peter returned the handshake. “I think you’ll be okay.”

“This is a serious thing, then?” Peter asked casually. “It’s been a year, hasn’t it. Eighteen months, maybe.”

Steve looked visibly shocked at his statement and Peter couldn’t help but smile. “I thought dad was seeing someone, but I didn’t want to ask. He changed. He was never _moody_ before, not by a long shot, but he suddenly started… I don’t know how to describe it, but it was just _more._ Everything he did was just happier, so much more energy in it all. I knew he was lonely, but he never showed it. It was always me – everything he did was for me – but then he seemed to take some time for himself too.”

Peter paused and then huffed a light laugh. “The _real_ clincher was that he stopped taking lunch to work. Dad’s been making both our lunches in the morning since I was a kid and we’d take them in our matching lunch boxes, but then he stopped. He tried to cover it up, but it was pretty obvious that we were going through less chips and I stopped getting two half-sandwiches with different fillings and started getting one with the same. I assume that was you?”

The colour of Steve’s cheeks gave him away even before the man nodded. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat and started again. “Yeah, that was me. I used to spend my afternoons in a coffee shop near his office and then we started meeting there on his lunch break.” Peter nodded in understanding and Steve grimaced a little guiltily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about the sandwiches.”

“It’s fine,” Peter assured him. “I can manage eating a whole sandwich of the same filling, don’t worry.”

“I want this, Peter.”

It was a statement said so seriously in comparison to Peter’s joking tone that he jolted a little and looked up to meet Steve’s eyes. “What?”

“This,” Steve clarified. “You and Tony. He made it clear from our first date that you two were a package deal. I wanted to meet you, but I could tell Tony was hesitant so I never pushed. I don’t want you to think that I was stalling because I wasn’t serious.”

Peter held up his hand and waved Steve away. “I knew it was Dad. He’s always been like it, denying himself the thing he wants the most on the off chance that it would hurt someone else. I’ve been trying to hint that it’s okay, but I think that just put him off more.”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, that’s my Tony. I’m in though. I’ve been hearing about you for so many months and I so want to experience it all in real life, not just through the pictures that your dad shows me.”

 _God, this guy was so earnest._ Peter smiled and Steve relaxed. “I want that too. You seem like a nice guy, Steve. If my dad has stayed with you for this long, then you’ve got to be something special.”

“I have…” Steve cut himself off, his fingers dancing nervously on the table as his eyes darted between them and Peter’s face. He coughed awkwardly and leant over the table to be a little closer to Peter, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “I have a ring, actually. It’s been burning a hole in my pocket for months, but I wanted you to be there when I asked.”

Peter’s mouth moved, but no words came out. “Wow,” he finally managed and if anyone asked about the tears in his eyes, he stubbed his toe. “Wow, that’s… Steve, that’s really cool.”

“I want to wait, though. I want to get to know you first and see what you think of me.”

“Dad’s seal of approval is enough, but thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

“Speaking of your dad, is he okay?” Steve turned around and squinted at the bathrooms as he coughed a little, a hand swiping at his eyes quickly. “Should we go check on him?”

Peter laughed and pointed over his shoulder, taking a moment to wipe his own. “He’s sitting on a bench outside - I saw him sneak out ages ago. He’s trying to give us some time alone .”

Snorting, Steve pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. “Your dad’s such a fool.”

“He’s a total loser, but you’re the one that chose him.”

Steve smiled so sweetly, so warmly, that Peter rolled his eyes. “Gross,” he said as Steve’s expression only grew dopier, his eyes shiny and a beam on his face as though there was nothing bad in the world at all. “I’ll change my mind if you keep doing that.”

Tony came bumbling in a moment later, a huge smile plastered on his face as his hands twisted in front of him. “So, how’s it going? Are we friends, do we hate each other?”

Although his tone was joking and light, it was almost impossible to not hear the way his voice cracked on the last question. Steve stood up and wrapped his arm around Tony’s waist, pulling him in close and pressing a kiss to his temple.

“We definitely don’t hate each other. Right, Peter?”

Peter smiled at his dad. “No. Might even go as far as to say we're friends.” He paused before he spoke again. “And it’s a good job that I booked that third ticket for graduation, too.”

“What?”

Both Tony and Steve looked so shocked that Peter couldn’t hold in his laughter. “You, Uncle Rhodey and Steve. That’s three tickets.”

“But, you didn’t know there _was_ a Steve!” Tony exclaimed, his tone completely shocked. “How did you know to get three tickets?”

Shaking his head, Peter stood up. “I’ve _always_ known there was a Steve,” he said and took great pleasure in watching Tony’s mouth drop open. “And now it is my turn to go and sit on a bench to give you time to freak out about this. He’s a good one, though, Dad. I approve.” Peter twisted to leave, but turned his head back. “Keep it short, please. I am absolutely starving.”

“I was sneaky!” he heard his dad shout to his retreating form, “you didn’t know! Peter… tell me you didn’t know!”

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your continued support. Sorry I haven't been answering your comments, but I'm reading them all, I promise. 
> 
>  
> 
> [I have a tumblr](http://s-horne.tumblr.com/)


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